They Learn the Darndest Things…

The other day I was feeling like I needed more snuggle time with Mika. So a little bit before their regular bedtime, I put an almond in Stewie’s cage and put him away for the night, thinking this would give me extra time to hang out with my pionus girl.

However, as soon as Mika saw Stewie in his cage enjoying his almond, she ran inside and sat on her roosting perch… and waited for her almond.

My birds are usually cooperative when I need them to go inside. I just make sure they see me put a high-value treat in their cage, and they go in by themselves.

Apparently Mika has the routine down so well that a treat inside Stewie’s cage is a signal to her that she should go inside her cage also.

And thus my plans to snuggle with Mika were foiled by her being way too cooperative about going back in her cage.

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5 Responses so far.

Being day 2 with my new amazon I discovered the value of a treat. My other birds (African grey, blue and gold macaw, and peach-faced lovebird) just let me put them in their cages when it is time to go back. Sunny (amazon) isn’t so keen on stepping up right now so I learned after trial and error that a piece of banana or a peanut will get him back in the cage. 🙂

🙂 Stewie and Mika let me put them in their cages too (most of the time!) but I really like it to be all about them having choices. The only time I don’t use the high-value “lure” is when they’ve already had too many treats that day or I’m going to be letting them out in a few minutes again anyway.

The bedtime treat advice is terrific! I enjoy reading your blog, especially like the very colorful photos you use. So many people read about and talk about dogs, it’s nice to see space given to the birds. 🙂

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Welcome!

Welcome to my parrot blog, where I share insights with other and would-be parrot owners on ways to keep their pet birds happy. I'm not a professional trainer or avian expert; these are just my opinions, observations and insights based on my life with Stewie and Mika, and my efforts to do the very best for my birds. I also read voraciously and will share other cool stuff I find related to parrot ownership and training.

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